Deception
by musicboxmedley
Summary: Two years after the war is over, Draco's back for revenge. How much is he willing to do to Hermione Granger to break Harry Potter before his own thirst for revenge backfires?
1. Prologue

**A/N: **This was written before the seventh book, so it's going to disregard everything that happens. Please don't let that bother you. It's also Draco/Hermione, so if you hate that, don't read. Otherwise, enjoy!

**Prologue **

Hermione Granger, a nineteen-year-old striking brunette with a petite frame and long, wispy hair stood at her doorway, watching the rain slowly trickle down onto the sidewalk in front of her. The clock in the tiny kitchen read almost one o'clock, but Hermione took no notice of it as she stared out blankly into the fog. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying and her blouse hung loosely from her shaking shoulders.

A short, plump woman with bright red hair came walking in from behind, a hesitant smile on her face. She slipped her arm around the other girl's shoulder and gave her a comforting squeeze. "Thank you," Hermione said listlessly, looking down at the large plate of cookies Mrs. Weasley held out to Hermione. She munched on one-halfheartedly and continued staring out the doorway into the countryside that surrounded the Burrow where the Weasleys lived. The two remained silent for several minutes before Hermione shifted uncomfortably.

"Do you think he's…" she was so choked up that she couldn't finish her sentence. Mrs. Weasley back at the clock behind her. One of the hands was turned so that it indicated Ronald Weasley, her son, was in mortal peril. Hermione followed Mrs. Weasleys' glance and let out a soft sob. For two years, ever since Harry Potter had finally defeated Voldemort, not a hand on that clock had ever turned to the words "Mortal Peril". Now Hermione feared for the life of the boy she loved, Ronald Weasley.

Things since the death of Voldemort had nearly gone back to normal, except for Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy. Ginny Weasley had died in the final battle, something that Harry had never truly gotten over. Lucius Malfoy had uttered the words that sent the dreaded killing spell at the youngest Weasley child.

Draco had watched in horror as Harry had chased down his father, too senseless with hate and pain to be stopped. Draco had watched as the form of his lifeless father, the father he hated and loved, crumple to the ground in front of Harry. Aurors restrained him before he could attack Harry back, but after that he had disappeared, angry and inconsolable. No one had heard from him since.

The clock stuck one o'clock loudly, making Hermione and Mrs. Weasley jump. Hermione stained her eyes, trying to find Ron and Harry in the distance. Ron had left at lunch to invite Harry to dinner, instead of having him eat alone at home like he usually did. Harry had not been himself since Ginny's death, and even though Mrs. Weasley and Ron were terribly hurt as well, they had put all their effort out into cheering Harry up and making him a part of the family like he used to be.

Hermione started out into the rain, but Mrs. Weasley grabbed her shoulder roughly and held her back. "No!" she said worriedly, "not you too, Hermione! We can alert Arthur and the Ministry if need be, but I won't have you going out there all alone." Hermione shook her off and shook her head.

"I can't just stand here and leave them alone like this, especially not Ron. I have to go."

"Hermione, please…"

Hermione felt something inside of her snap. "Listen to me! You can't protect me forever. I'm not some little girl any more. My parents may have been killed, but that doesn't mean you need to take their place."

Mrs. Weasley instantly flared up, angrier than Hermione had ever seen her before. "Don't you dare tell me that! All I've done is tried to be kind to you and Ron, to make you a part of the family."

Hermione stared at her. "I'm not Ginny," she said simply. "And pretending I'm your daughter won't bring her back. I've already lost a friend, and my parents, but I'm not loosing Ron."

Mrs. Weasley let go of Hermione's shoulder and stared at her blankly. Hermione brushed away the angry tears that had been running down her cheeks.

"You go, dear." Mrs. Weasley said, forcing the kindness into her voice. "Take care of yourself." Hermione nodded and stepped out of the door and into the darkness.

Hermione walked briskly down the dark, and almost empty street of Diagon Alley. She had found Harry's house empty and decided to search wherever she could think of. Diagon Alley had been the first thing she had thought of. The guilt of how cruelly she had treated Mrs. Weasley hung over her like a shadow, but she brushed it aside. Hermione buttoned her coat up and speed up her pace. Suddenly, a low voice sounded behind her.

"Hermione?"

Hermione recognized the voice, and whipped around, her wand ready. She looked to an alley at her side and saw the pale face of Draco Malfoy. Before she could react, he had knocked her wand from her hand and had clamped his hand over her mouth, dragging her into the dark depths of the alley, where nobody could find her.


	2. Revenge

**A/N: **Thank you so much for your reviews. I hope you like this chapter just as much! )

**.::Chapter 1 -- Revenge::.**

Hermione struggled uselessly against Draco's firm hold, but he seemed to have grown both taller and stronger in the many years he had been gone. Hermione tried to scream but Draco's hand was still covering her mouth and no one came to her aid as she was dragged deeper into the alley. She kicked and punched every part of Draco she could reach, but to no avail. In desperation, she bit down hard on his hand and he let out a yelp, but suddenly shoved her through a door in the side of a wall.

Hermione tripped into a dark room that looked a lot like an abandoned house, with Draco following. Her leg hit a chair and she fell over. Before she could let out a scream the door clicked shut loudly, and Draco had his wand out, pointing towards Hermione. She scrambled to her feet and sprinted to the far side of the room.

"What do you want?" she questioned angrily, her back against the wall. Draco's eyes glinted viciously as he approached her slowly.

"I want to know where Potter is!"

Hermione's eyes widened in realization. "You're going to kill him, aren't you?" she gasped, flattening herself against the wall even more. "And Ronald. You're after them. And that's why the clock said…" she trailed off, thinking of the words "Mortal Peril" on the Weasley clock. Draco sneered at her.

"Very clever, Mudblood."

Hermione stared at him. "Draco," she said, now attempting to sooth him. "Please don't do this. I know that however angry you may be at Harry, there are other ways-"

"Please, save it for another time," Draco interrupted her carelessly. "All I need to know is where they are."

"Draco, please!"

"Tell me where he is, Granger."

Hermione, still frightened, laughed nervously at him. "So you aren't smart enough to find out where is yourself? I thought you were _so_ terribly clever…"

She stopped herself, noticing the vicious look in Draco's eyes. He wrapped his fingers around her throat, slamming her into the wall. She gasped for breath uselessly, a whine of panic building in her head.

"You really should stop while you're ahead and make things much easier for yourself. Tell me where Potter is. " He let her go and she slipped backward, gasping, with only enough breath to mutter one word.

"No."

Draco lifted his wand once again and pointed it at Hermione. She felt frightened, but sneered at him once again. "You're too cowardly to do it!" she said in a low voice.

"_Crucio!_" Draco bellowed furiously. Intense pain hit Hermione, and she fell the floor, screaming. Hot waves of unbearable pain coursed through her body, and her throat grew hoarse from screaming. Suddenly the pain stopped, and Hermione found herself curled up on the floor, tears running down her cheeks.

"Where is Potter?" hissed Draco, his wand pointed directly at Hermione's chest.

"I won't tell you," she sobbed weakly. Suddenly the door behind Draco shook loudly, and voices shouted from behind it. Hermione recognized one of the voices as Harry. Draco, shooting her a look that indicated to Hermione he wasn't through yet, disappeared from sight just as the door burst open. Harry, Ron, and Mr. Weasley all burst in. Ron, seeing Hermione on the floor, rushed to her and scooped her up in his arms. Harry and Mr. Weasley ran to another room in the back of the house, uselessly searching for Draco.

"Hermione, what happened?" he exclaimed, holding her in his arms.

Hermione looked up at him. "Draco is here. He's going to try to kill you and Harry." Ron looked around, his face turning red.

"Where is he?" He said angrily. "I'll kill him! He hurt you!" Hermione sat up angrily, wrenching herself from Ron's grasp.

"No, Ron, listen to me! Get help! Don't do this yourself. He wants to kill Harry, but he'll kill you too! Please, protect yourself, I don't want you to die!" Ron stared at her.

"Hermione, he hurt you! I have to do something about it myself. I'm not just going to…"

"No!" screamed Hermione, once again in tears. "IF YOU WANT TO GET KILLED, THEN FINE! DON'T LISTEN TO ME!" Ron looked at Hermione, flabbergasted. Without looking back she ran from the room and out to Diagon Alley, hot tears of frustration flowing down her cheeks.


	3. Captured

**A/N: **Thanks to all my readers and reviewers!

* * *

**.::Chapter 2 -- Captured::.

* * *

**Harry had arrived home long after Hermione had crawled into bed, sobbing, and gone to sleep. Ron had been concerned for her, but had been too livid to go to sleep until Harry convinced him not to go after Draco. Harry had contacted a few of his close friends who were Aurors, but Draco Malfoy had not been found. 

Ron entered the spare bedroom of the Burrow. He now wished he could tell Hermione he had changed his mind about Draco, and that he had made a mistake, but he was afraid to wake her. He gazed down at the beautiful, slender form of his Hermione, then, after making sure she was safe, turned off the lights and left the room.

Meanwhile, Hermione was barely able to sleep. She tossed and turned, her mind tricking her into hearing eerie sounds and sights in the dark room. Trying to reassure herself that everything was safe, she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

_"Silencio"_.

Hermione's eyes flickered open at the sound of a whispered spell. For a moment she thought she was imagining things once again, until she saw the dark figure of Draco Malfoy standing over the bed. She opened her mouth to scream, but no sound came out from her terrified lips. She realized that he had used magic to silence her.

Her mind was suddenly, wonderfully wiped clean, and all she could think of were the words "Come with me". She tried to fight them, but she felt herself moving slowly out of the bed and toward the figure on the other side of the bed. Suddenly, she willed herself to stop, and her knees hit the floor loudly, and she found herself thinking clearly again. She tried to stand up and make a dive for her wand, but a flash of red light hit her, and she fell to the floor, unconscious.

* * *

Hermione woke up to find herself lying in bed. Suddenly, her eyes flew open and she looked around the room in shock. The bed she was lying on was much more uncomfortable than her own bed, and though the room she was in was large, it was very dark and dingy. She expected to be tied up, but to her surprise, she was perfectly free.

She felt slightly dizzy as she stumbled from the bed, but made her way to the door slowly. She attempted to turn the knob, but it refused to budge. She angrily wrenched at it, but she only made her hands burn. Frustrated, she kicked the door and found her way back to the bed, her eyes welling up with tears.

"Enjoying yourself, Mudblood?"

Hermione whipped around to find the dark, tall figure of Draco Malfoy standing in the corner of the room, unnoticed until now. She hastily wiped the tears from her eyes and glared at him, groping a wand in her bathrobe pocket but finding none.

"That's right, keep looking, Granger. It's no use, I already took your wand."

Suddenly a new thought found it's way into Hermione's mind.

"Where's Ron? And Harry?"

Draco merely laughed.

Hermione felt the blood rush into her head, and she felt herself flying across the room, screaming, launching herself at Draco, trying to hurt him in any way she could find. Draco, slightly alarmed and caught off his guard, caught Hermione in his arms and tried to protect himself from her clawing hands and kicking feet. Her fist caught him in the eye, and he let out a yell and threw Hermione violently from him. She fell to the floor and before she had time to help herself up, she found herself pinned to the wall. Draco raised his hand, and she knew the slap was coming before it fell. Her face flew sideways and she felt a sharp sting on her cheek.

"You are never to do that again, Mudblood," Draco said furiously, dragging Hermione to the bed and shoving her onto it. "You are to stay in this room until I let you out, and that will be very unlikely if you do what you just did again." Hermione let out an angry sob in reply.

"Speak up, Mudblood," taunted Draco, "I didn't quite catch that."

"What did you to do Harry?" Hermione screamed, tears streaming down her cheeks. "What do you want from me?"

Draco looked at her, considering whether to tell her or not. Then he spoke.

"Do you know what Harry did to my father during the final battle? Would you like to know, Granger?" Hermione slowly nodded, and Draco went on.

"He killed him, without even giving him a chance to surrender." Hermione let out a gasp, but shook her head in alarm.

"No, Harry would never do that, you're lying!"

"Oh, really?" said Draco. "You never asked him, did you? You never asked him how it happened." Hermione started to sob again.

"You killed him in revenge, didn't you, Malfoy? You killed him!" Draco sneered.

"Calm down, mudblood. I didn't kill him…yet."

"Then what do you want from me?!"

"What do I want? What do I want? What I want is to lure Harry here. I knew it would be foolish to try to kill him in his own home; it is too well protected. I knew stealing you was the only way he would come here, and Ron with him, and when they arrive, I'm going to kill you and Ron. I want Harry to feel like I did when he murdered my father. I want him to feel the pain of having loved ones gone forever."

Hermione let out a tiny scream and scrambled to the back of the bed. Draco laughed at her.

"Stupid Granger. If I had wanted to kill you, I would have already done it before you spoiled my house with your Mudblood filth. No, I'm going to wait until Harry finds you, and tracks you down. Then, I'll kill you in front of him. And your precious Ronald, too. He can see the pain in your eyes as you slowly die, and he can feel every last bit of pain that I felt. That's what I want from you."

And with that, Draco stepped from the room and closed the door. The lock slid loudly into place after it, and Hermione was left on her own. She threw herself on to the bed, her desperate sobs heard by no one.


	4. Pain

**A/N: **I couldn't do it without all of you reading and favoriting! Thanks so much.

* * *

**.::Chapter 3 -- Pain::.

* * *

**Hermione had cried herself to sleep, lying on the dark, uncomfortable bed. There was nothing she could do at all, nothing she could do to save Harry or herself. Soon, though, she fell into a dreamless, wonderful sleep, her only escape from the horrible reality that awaited her. 

Soon a sharp knock at the door awoke her with a start. She sat up in bed, doing her best to wipe away the tears that still rested in her eyes. Draco Malfoy strode through the door, not paying any attention to the fact that she had just woken up. Trotting behind him was a small, bony house-elf, with big brown eyes, carrying a tray full of food. Hermione sat up in disgust.

"I'm not eating that!" she said hoarsely, her throat dry from crying. "You made those poor house-elves cook all that, I'm not eating it!" Draco merely glanced at her.

"You'll eat it or you'll starve," he said simply, pointing to the side table where the elf was to put the tray. Hermione simply sat there. Draco turned around with the house-elf at his heels, and made to leave, but Hermione suddenly had an idea.

"Draco," she said softly, in a low voice. Draco turned around curiously.

"What?" he said irritably. Hermione did her best to make a concerned look.

"Well, look…I was wondering. About…about your father. Maybe you were right…about…right about Harry. Maybe I don't know everything about him."

Draco sneered at her. "You think?" His pace quickened, and he reached the door and wrenched it open.

"Draco…" Hermione said, even more pleadingly. "You're going to kill me anyway, just please tell me about Harry!" Tears glistened in her brown eyes, tears of worry that he wouldn't listen to her, worry that she wouldn't be able to carry up her plan.

Slowly, furiously, yet calmly, Draco shut the door with a click. He turned around slowly, and looked Hermione straight in the eye.

"Fine, Mudblood. But you're lucky I'm even speaking to you."

Hermione nodded, trying not to look too eager, but relieved Draco was listening to her. The house-elf scurried out the door, not looking at Hermione.

"During the last battle, when Harry had finally destroyed the last horcrux, Voldemort attacked the castle. You remember how Harry ran up to the top of the tower after my father? Well, I ran up with everyone else, but I got there before you all. I saw Harry's wand pointing straight at my father, and my father's limp body falling off the tower, just like Dumbledore's."

Hermione let out a gasp, real tears coming to her eyes. "No.." she said, "how could he…he never told me this…"

Draco walked heavily toward Hermione. "I swear, Granger," he said, his eyes glistening, "I would have killed him right then, but I couldn't. Everyone else arrived there before I could say or do anything. And to this day, I swore I would find Harry and kill him."

"You loved your father, didn't you, Draco?" said Hermione tenderly. Draco stared at her.

"Yes, I did," he said slowly. "Sometimes I hated him, but he taught me so many valuable lessons, so many things I remembered…"

"My parents were like that too, you know. Before they were killed my last year at Hogwarts. They really taught me so many things."

"But at least their killers aren't still alive," said Draco in a low voice. Hermione nodded, her eyes burning with tears.

"But they are both dead, Draco. They can never come back."

"You wanted to kill the Death Eaters who killed your parents when you found out about their death, didn't you?" Draco asked sharply. Hermione nodded.

"Yes…but Draco, you can't…"

Draco grabbed a vase sitting on a dresser near him and hurled it across the room. It hit the opposite wall with a ear-shattering crash.

"I hate him, Hermione…" He sat weakly on the bed next to her, tears filling his eyes.

Hermione hesitantly laid her hand softly on his. Suddenly, he broke down entirely, tears streaming down his cheeks, and he dropped his wand. It hit the floor with a loud clatter, but Draco did not notice. Hermione wrapped her arms around him as he began to sob, dreading what she had to do. But it had to be done in order to save herself, to save Harry. Slowly, she pulled the wand toward her, using the toe of her shoe. Her arm still around Draco's shoulder, she reached down and snatched it up.

"I'm sorry, Draco," she said, her fingers tightening around the wand. Draco glanced up.

"_Stupify!_," exclaimed Hermione, but Draco was too fast, even when crying. He dove out of the way, and the jet of red light hit a statue of some ancient Malfoy ancestor, shattering it into a million pieces. Hermione let out a scream as Draco leapt toward her, grabbing her by the wrist.

"You liar! You filthy Mudblood liar!" he hissed, his nails digging into her wrist in an attempt to keep her from pointing the wand at him. "You don't care!"

Hermione spouted off every spell in her head, the light harmless hitting the ceiling. She fell over onto the bed, Draco still groping for the wand. In the wild struggle for the wand that ensued, Hermione felt a strange, new strength inside her soul, the strength to fight back like she never had before.

Suddenly, she fell onto the wooden floor with a crash, the wand flying from her hand and across the room. Draco instantly dove for it, and so did Hermione. Draco reached it first and aimed it at Hermione. She flew back violently, hitting the wall. As she slid onto the floor, she felt the breath knocked out of her, and was temporarily unable to move.

Draco walked up to her, his eyes gleaming maliciously, and kicked her sharply in the ribs. She let out a scream and rolled over to protect herself, but Draco raised his foot again for another blow. Hermione closed her eyes and waited for the pain to come, but it never did. She glanced up at Draco, a strange look on his face.

"I can't do it." He said in a voice barely above a whisper. "You'll be sorry you did this, you filthy Mudblood." He hissed, walking from the room and slamming the door behind him. Hermione pulled herself up, too shocked to cry. She had just discovered something about Draco that she had never seen before. He truly had a tender side.


	5. Hiding

**A/N: **This chapter is short, but don't worry, there is plenty in it. Thanks for reading!!!

* * *

**.::Chapter 4 -- Hiding::.

* * *

**Ron paced around his study for the nineteenth time, then suddenly started as his friend Harry entered the room. 

"Did you find her?" asked Ron anxiously. Harry shook his head sadly.

"I'm sorry, mate. No trace of her, no trace of anything."

"But we all know that Malfoy took her!"

"We don't know that, Ron."

"What does that mean?" Ron half-screamed, kicking a small, silver object lying on the floor near him. "It's so obvious!"

"Aurors already searched the Malfoy mansion. Top to bottom. Twice. There isn't a trace of anyone there."

Ron suddenly collapsed onto a chair, crying for the first time in days.

"It's my fault, Harry. I killed her."

Harry shook his head and sat down next to Ron. "No you didn't, Ron. Nobody could have known he was serious."

"Why can't I go after her myself?!"

"You know you just have to lie low for now. We all know the real person Malfoy's after is you...we just have to hope he doesn't hurt Hermione."

"Hope?" laughed Ron. "Since when has that done any good?"

Suddenly, a sharp tap sounded at the window.

* * *

Two days ago, Hermione was sleeping in the Malfoy manor, all hope of a rescue gone.

"Get up, Mudblood," voice hissed in Hermione's ear. Hermione sat up in bed, alarmed. Draco was standing next to her, fully dressed and holding several trunks in his hands. Hermione blinked twice.

"Stop calling me Mudblood, Malfoy," she snapped. "You've already done enough to hurt me, isn't that enough?" Draco stared at her.

"All right, Granger," Hermione's mouth dropped open in surprise. "I won't, as long as you stop getting your Muggle blood filth on everything you touch. Oh, wait, you can't stop. Oh well, nice try, Mudblood."

Hermione glared at him, but didn't say anything. Draco snapped his fingers and the same house-elf that had brought Hermione her food the yesterday (which, by the way, had not been eaten), scurried in, looking nervously at Draco.

"Did you pack that suitcase for Granger yet?" Draco snapped. The house-elf nodded violently.

"Yes, master, I has it all ready. Would you likes me to bring it to you?" Draco nodded impatiently. The elf tripped from the room and Draco turned back to Hermione, who was just crawling out of bed.

"Get ready to go. We are leaving."

"Where?" gasped Hermione, shocked. Draco rolled his eyes.

"Far away," he said evasively.

Hermione glared." What am I supposed to wear? This?" she looked down at her bathrobe angrily.

Draco sneered at her." I brought some of your clothes with me when I took you here," he said, as the house-elf came back in, stumbling with the weight of a massive suitcase.

Draco paid no attention to him as he fell over and the trunk hit the floor with a thud. "Now get dressed and get ready. I'll be back in ten minutes."

With that, Draco left the room, closing the door with a snap. Hermione blinked the tears of frustration back. She had hoped that perhaps Ron would find her, and bring Aurors to rescue her, but now that was hardly any chance of that.

She threw on her clothes and looked around the room desperately, suddenly spotting a the shards of glass from the vase that Draco had thrown a few days ago. An idea popped into her head, and she put a large shard of the vase into her pocket, but took a smaller, sharper one and walked over to the wall near the bed. Quickly, she carved the words "help! Draco kidnapped me! I'm going away!!!"

Suddenly the door flew open and Hermione dropped the glass quickly. Luckily, Draco didn't notice." Get your trunk. We're leaving."

Hermione picked up her trunk, slowly, hoping that she could slow things down as much as possible so Harry would have more of a chance of saving her. Draco knew what she was doing and grabbed her by the arm, dragging her out of the room with him.

* * *

Ron jumped and looked up. At the window was an owl. Flinging open the window, he took the note from the bird's leg and ripped it open.

_Hello, Blood-Traitor,_ the letter read.

_I hope you are enjoying yourself. Hermione and I certainly are. I hope you will come and join us. In fact, I insist. Be here in ten days or Hermione will die. _

Sincerely,

Draco Malfoy 

Ron stood perfectly still for a moment, then looked at Harry.

"I have to rescue her," he said.

"Ron..." Harry began, but Ron had already left the room.


	6. Mistakes

**A/N: **I know my chapters have been very short so I've tried to make this one longer. Hope you like it. Thanks again so much to all my readers and reviews! )

**.::Chapter 5 -- Mistakes::.**

Two dark figures appeared near the base of the Whomping Willow. With a quick spell from the taller person, the tree stopped moving, and the pair entered, with the shorter one being dragged in by the other.

Hermione found herself entering the Shrieking Shack, and looking around at the dark house rattling in the cold wind. Draco had certainly picked a good spot- there was no chance of Harry finding them here.

"This is insane, Draco!" she protested. "I thought you wanted Harry to find us!"

Draco sneered at her. "Oh, he will," he said coldly, shoving her into a dark room and closing the door behind them. "I'll leave him enough clues to find you, don't you worry. And then I can kill you both." Hermione gaped at him.

"You know you can't do that, Draco! Like Dumbledore said, you're not a murderer."

"A lot of things have changed since then, if you haven't noticed."

So, what do you plan to do after you carry out this elaborate plan, Draco? Run off somewhere, happy with your kill, and hope the ministry doesn't catch you? You're telling me you don't have any idea what you are going to do then?"

Draco gripped her arm tightly. "Why don't you shut up, Mudblood?" he said angrily.

Hermione wrenched free. "No, I won't. You've gone far enough with this insanity- I'm not going to let you go any further!"

"Oh, yes you are." Draco stepped closer to her. "Because there is nothing you can do about it." He shoved Hermione backwards, and tripped into the wall behind her, feeling a slight pain in her side. Then she realized what it was that she had felt.

She shoved her hand into her pocket, feeling for the piece of glass she had left in there before she had left the Malfoy mansion. Gripping it tightly, she lashed out and knocked Draco's wand down with her free hand. He made a dash for it, but she kicked it to the other side of the room quickly. Draco let out a roar and leapt for Hermione, who stepped backwards, holding out the piece of glass.

"Don't touch me, Draco!" she screamed. Draco looked at his wand, and then back at her, as if trying to make up his mind which to go for. Suddenly, he ran for his wand and Hermione saw her chance. She dashed for the door, but Draco turned around and was at her heels. She had almost reached the doorknob before he leapt on her, and they both fell to the floor with a tremendous crash.

Suddenly Hermione felt something warm gushing down her arm, and noticed that Draco was not moving anymore. She let out a gasp and pulled herself free, rolling Draco over frantically, seeing a gaping wound in his side, where the glass must have accidentally cut him. He was loosing blood quickly, and Hermione knew she had to do something.

* * *

Ron could barely see anything in the dark behind him, but slowly caught sight of a head of bright red hair, and knew who it was.

"Harry!"

Harry ran up to Ron quickly, nearly slipping on the wet street.

"Ron, please, listen-"

"No, Harry, I'm not listening. And I'm not coming back."

There was long silence.

"Then I'm coming with you."

"What?" exclaimed Ron, turning around. "No, Harry! I know you're used to it, but you don't always have to be the hero. Hermione's my problem."

"If you don't remember, she was and still is my friend. So stop acting like I don't care!"

"I'm not acting like you-"

"Good. Then I'm coming with you."

* * *

"Draco, please!" Hermione gasped, tears streaming down both her cheeks as she worked furiously at trying to save Draco's life. She had already torn a strip of cloth from her sweater and was now using it to attempt to stop the flow of blood that was pouring from Draco's side. He was deathly pale and shaking.

No matter how hard Hermione tried, the cloth in her hand was quickly soaked, unable to stop the blood. She hadn't meant to murder Draco. She just wanted to save her life – save Harry's life. Draco's breath began to come in loud shudders. Hermione suddenly froze. Why hadn't she thought of it before?

She leapt up and ran to the bed. She desperately searched the room for Draco's wand, and finally saw it, sticking out of his coat pocket across the room. She dashed across the room for it, but not before she heard a loud bang behind her and the word, "_impedimenta_!" She fell to the ground with a thud and knew no more.

* * *

Harry and Ron paced down the dark street as fast as they could go without slipping and falling on the still-damp pavement. Ron was already out of breath, but driven by a strange determination that even he couldn't explain or even understand.

"I've had been a horrible boyfriend, Harry."

"What?"

Harry was so shocked that he stopped dead and stared at Ron. "What is that supposed to mean?" he repeated. "Hermione loved – loves you."

"No," Ron said hopelessly, stopping as well. "She was always so kind and sweet, but did I ever show her how much I loved her?"

"Of course you did!" exclaimed Harry, unable to understand why his friend was thinking that way. "Look at all that you did for her- look at you know, coming to her rescue like the knights in the old books!"

Ron laughed bitterly. "Oh, that's right. Now I have a chance to show her how much I love her. But did I ever _before_? Did I even _tell _her? No. I don't deserve her."

"Snap out of, mate!" shouted Harry, alarmed. "It's not the time to think of things like that right now. Even if you were a bad boyfriend, it doesn't matter. Her life is in danger."

Ron nodded, reluctantly realizing that Harry's words were true. No matter how he felt at the moment, Hermione was in danger.

Harry and Ron had finally reached Hogwarts. It was still drizzling, and the wind blew fiercely across the grounds, but the sun was rising, slowly, but surely. Harry glanced up at it, suddenly feeling exhausted. He realized he had been searching for Hermione all night. The light normally would have been welcomed by Ron, but now it seemed to taunt him, telling him to give up hope. It seemed to glare at him, forcing him to give up; telling him there was no more use

"This is useless, Harry. Why would Draco take Hermione in a place he was sure to be discovered at?" argued Ron.

"Harry," Ron said gently, "listen. There are dozens of secret passages in Hogwarts, right? Well, maybe Draco knows about a few of them."

Ron shook his head, and then suddenly, he froze, looking past Harry.

"Harry…" he said slowly. "I think you're right. Draco is smart enough to have found out about those passages. And the one that comes to mind is right behind us. Harry, the answer is right behind us."

Harry whipped around and found – nothing.

"Ron, have you gone mad or-"

"No, look!" Ron interrupted, pointing at a large tree with huge branches whipping from side to side, behind his friend.

Harry's eyes widened in recognition. "The Whomping Willow?" he exclaimed, glancing back at the tall, foreboding tree behind him. "Do you think-"

"Yes," said Ron, already running toward the tree. "Come on."

Harry and Ron ducked skillfully beneath the flailing branches of the Whomping Willow until they reached the entrance. Quickly, they climbed down beneath the earth, running through the dark passageways of the Shrieking Shack until the reached an old, wooden set of steps. Ron leapt in front of Harry and whipped open the door of the room directly in front of him and let out a shout.

"Harry! Harry, he's killed her!" Ron shouted, falling to his knees. "No!"

Harry was just as horrified at the sight of blood. He slowly looked around the room and saw nothing but the pool of blood on the floor and a large shard of glass lying near the bed, also covered in blood. So Hermione was dead, Draco had run off – and this was the end of the road.

* * *

The light from the rays of orange sun danced across the trees of the forbidden forest. It was unusually peaceful in the woods for the time of year, and only the soft sound of rustling leaves could be heard. There was a stream that ran across the heart of the forest, and the clear water sparkled in the rising sun. The rays of light began to fill the forest, revealing dark red marks near the lake. As the sun rose higher, one could see that the marks were blood – a person's blood. It looked as if the person had crawled – or been dragged – across the forest floor. But on far side of the lake, the marks seemed to have suddenly vanished.

The wind began to blow harder, and the harsher the wind blew, the more the trees began to sway, and the more the leaves on the forest floor shifted. Slowly, but surely, all traces of the blood were covered up, and by the time the sun was high in the sky and Harry and Ron arrived, nothing was left of the trail of blood.


	7. Spared

**A/N: **Thanks for all the reviews and reads. It really inspires me to write more. **

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**.::Chapter 6 -- Spared::.**

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Ron tried hard to keep the sobs in. He had truly loved Hermione, and now, because he refused to listen, she was dead. Because of him. Harry was extremely pale.

Suddenly, Harry caught sight of a black cloak whipping down the staircase. He didn't hesitate and followed after it quickly. Suddenly, he saw a person in a dark hood and a Death Eater's mask standing at the bottom of the steps. The person was behind a caldron.

"Farewell, Harry Potter," the voice hissed. It threw a dark liquid into the pot, and then dashed out the door. Harry froze for a moment, watching the liquid bubble up quickly. Then he flew up the stairs, shouting.

"Ron! Ron, get out of here! We're going to get blown up!" Ron leapt up and followed Harry to the window. They two attempted to wrench it open. Slowly, the wooden planks on it began to come loose.

"Quickly, Ron!" exclaimed Harry, but the window did not seem to be giving way any more.

A few moments later, the figure in the black cloak watched as the Shrieking Shack burst into flames and saw pieces of wood and glass flying into the air. As the rubble and dirt slowly drifted back to earth, the person smiled as they saw there was nothing left of the shabby building.

* * *

Hermione opened her eyes slowly. At first, all she could see was pitch-black darkness. She tried to stand up but found her hands and feet were tied. She struggled against the rope cutting into her skin for a few minutes, and then gave up in exhaustion. Her head ached terribly, and there was a dull pain in her back from where the floorboards had left marks when she was hit with the spell.

She rolled over desperately, trying the relive the pain in her back, and suddenly she let out a sharp gasp as her hand felt something cold below her. She felt it carefully, and discovered it was a nail. Her eyes lit up as she came up with a plan. She positioned her hands over the nail carefully, then dug her feet into the ground, pushing herself backwards. The nail caught on the rope and Hermione felt her bonds tugging against her. It was working. She tried again. This time, the rope nearly slipping over her palms. With one last try, she was free. She sat up and worked quickly on the ropes on her feet. Throwing them off of her, she pushed herself off the floor and felt her way around the dark room.

Suddenly, in the dim light, she saw a doorknob. Slowly turning it, she pushed the door open and stumbled into a brightly lit room. It seemed to be some type of a dining room, not too much different from the Malfoy manner. The table was adorned with candles and expensive plates, looking as if someone had just eaten. Hermione jumped as she heard soft voices to her left. Looking over carefully, she saw five men sitting on a sofa, talking angrily to each other. She stood behind the doorframe, listening in closely.

"Listen, Malfoy, it's the only way," said a tall black boy angrily. Sitting next to him were two fat men, Crabbe and Goyle, and another dark-haired boy who Hermione didn't recognize was near them as well. Draco looked extremely pale, although his side was bandaged tightly and did not seem to be bleeding anymore. His shook his head slowly.

"Zabini, you're asking the impossible," he declared. "Why shouldn't we go on living in hiding? Resurrecting the Dark Lord once again would be…suicide, why, you know that!" Zabini's eyes were gleaming.

"But think, Malfoy. You can finally get revenge on Potter for all that he's done. Isn't that worth it?" Draco looked for a moment as if he couldn't make up his mind.

"We don't need him, Zabini. We can do it on our own. We should destroy the horcrux." He reached forward to take a small box from Zabini's arms, but the tall boy knocked his hands away.

"NO!" roared Zabini. "We can't do it on our own, don't you understand? Potter is too strong-"

Draco laughed scoffingly.

"Potter?"

"Yes, Potter. You know yourself that he defeated the Dark Lord. If only he wasn't so hasty, he would have discovered this horcrux was still intact." Hermione gasped and started to back out of the room. She had to escape while she could and warn Harry.

The dark-haired boy turned and looked at her. She froze.

"My, my, my," he grinned. "Look who's awake." He rose and started to head toward her. She backed away slowly.

"Been listening in, have you?" Crabbe and Goyle chuckled stupidly. Draco turned around and stared. Zabini suddenly reached out and grabbed Hermione by her hair and flung her to the floor.

"I'm afraid you've heard a little bit more than I'd like for you to have heard," Zabini said cruelly. "Well, I'll take care off that." He raised his wand.

"Stop!" shouted Draco. Zabini froze.

"What's it to you, Malfoy?" he sneered. "We were going to get rid of her anyway. Now's as good a time as ever." Draco looked panicked.

"Wait. Maybe she could help us." Hermione tried to crawl away but Zabini grabbed her arms and yanked her back.

"Really, Malfoy. That's pathetic," Zabini said, pinning Hermione against him and holding his wand to her heart. "Now…AVADA-"

"STOP!" screamed Malfoy. "Just stop. Listen. She knows more about all this than we do. If we could convince her to help us, she would be a valuable aspect." Zabini examined Hermione, who was trembling and crying. He shrugged and let her drop to the floor.

"Good point. Grabbe, Goyle, please show Miss Granger to her room." Hermione looked away quickly before the two men could grab her. She had to warn Harry.


	8. Secrets

**A/N: **Okay, I tried to get this chapter up quickly. I hope you like it and review! Thanks again to everyone who has reviewed. Thanks to the people who have offered critism. I really do want my story to be the best it can be so if there is anything you notice, feel free to let me know in a review. And once again, sorry that the chapters are so short. It is a fast-paced action story so I do try to pack a lot into a little chapter! And yes, you're going to have to wait a chapter to find out what's happening to Ron and Harry. Sorry!

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**.::Chapter 7 -- Secrets::.**

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Hermione sat on the bed of the dim room were she had been left, watching the remaining flame of a candle slowly wane and leave her in total darkness. She had already given up on getting out, as the door was locked securely, and metal bars had been placed over all the windows. She had ripped away the dusty curtains and attempted to see out the window as much as possible in the thick fog, but hadn't been able to figure out where she was or even how she had gotten there, but only that she was in the countryside, far away from other houses.

Slowly, the door creaked open behind her. She glanced over her shoulder and saw Draco entering the room, his side still bandaged heavily. She shifted around in the bed, facing him warily. She wasn't afraid of him, really, but she still felt slightly uncomfortable. Maybe he had changed his mind about her. Perhaps he thought he had made a mistake when he told Zabini to keep her alive.

"Look, Granger," Draco started off, closing the door behind him, "You realize if you want to live, you're going to have to help Zabini with this horcrux. You know more about that type of magic than any of us, if that's all your filthy Mudblood mind is good for." Hermione's face darkened.

"That's a great way to start off the conversation, Malfoy!" she snapped. "Because now I really want to help you and your Death Eater cronies out. You really have a way with words!"

Draco turned red. "Shut up!" he spat. Hermione opened her mouth in disgust.

"Shut up? Why didn't you just have Zabini kill me and shut me up for good? Or would that have left you with nobody to insult for fun? Tell me, why exactly didn't you let him kill me? Was there a reason or not?"

Draco sighed and walked closer.

"Look," he said in a lower tone, ". I don't want to bring the Dark Lord back any more than you. He's hidden the box containing the horcrux, and only he could tell someone where it is."

"You could find it!" exclaimed Hermione. "I'm sure Zabini isn't all that clever-"

"This time he was," said Draco. "He's the secret keeper – only he knows where this house is, and only he knows where the box is hidden. You couldn't tell anyone where it is, and neither could I."

Hermione turned pale. "Has he written it down?" Draco nodded.

"He's given a scrap of paper to me with the address of this house and the location of the box so I could get it if I needed to. In a few days, he's going to try to force you to help him free the horcrux from the box and bring…bring the Dark Lord back."

"I have to get Harry!" exclaimed Hermione. Draco grabbed her arms tightly.

"You will _not_ get Potter!" he hissed. Hermione wrenched herself free and leapt up.

"But we have to! He can destroy the horcrux if he only could find the box! Please, let me find Harry and tell him about this! You know it's the only way you can stop this from happening! I swear, Draco, I won't betray you. I owe you something at least for saving me."

Draco froze, considering what Hermione had just said. Then he nodded.

"All right." He said simply.

Hermione stood up and looked at him. "What do I do?" she questioned quickly.

"Quickly," said Draco, "while everyone else is asleep, sneak downstairs and let yourself out the door. Just be quiet. I'll make up some excuse about how you got out this door. Just go and get Potter. But don't think this is the end. I still want him. I want him to know the pain of what he caused to my father."

Hermione stared at him, disgusted, but decided at the last moment not to say anything. She and Draco ran downstairs quietly, running lightly past Zabini's bedroom. Finally, they reached the bottom of the staircase and ran into the kitchen to slip out the backdoor. Hermione pulled it open slowly but stood there, looking at Draco. He stared back at her. The moonlight poured down on them both.

"Be careful," he said, looking worried for the first time. Hermione nodded. Then, without warning, Draco leaned in closer to her. Hermione felt it coming – she felt his warm breath on her cheek, and yet she didn't move. Something felt perfectly right about it. She felt a thrill she had never felt when Ron kissed her, and as much as she loathed to admit it, she liked it. She felt his lips press onto her own and suddenly her mind began to work again. She turned her head quickly and looked away. Draco pulled away angrily. He looked at a loss for words.

Hermione looked back at him. "I'm sorry," she said sadly. "I really am. I just can't. I can't. Ron."

Draco stared at her. "Just go," he whispered in a unsteady voice. Hermione stuttered on.

"I really don't mean…it's just…what would he think, and I'm going…"

"Shut up and get out, mudblood," sneered Draco. "Come back with Harry or I'll never trust you again." A lone tear trickled down Hermione's check, but she blinked the rest back and nodded, taking several steps back. Suddenly a voice called from behind her.

"Oh, I don't think so. We still need you."

It was Zabini. Without a moment's hesitation, Hermione flew out the door. She a sickening crunch of glass as Zabini knocked Draco into a glass cabinet behind him and ran on toward Hermione. She ran as fast as she could.

Suddenly a bolt of lightening lit the sky and she saw a deep ravine directly in front of her. She looked back and saw Zabini only a few feet away. He grabbed her by her hair and flung her to the ground, pinning her down with his foot.

"Don't kill me," she whimpered up at him, feeling horribly helpless. He grinned in a frightening way.

"Don't worry," he hissed, yanking her up. "We still need you. _Obliviate!_" Before the beam of light hit Hermione and she fell to the ground, she saw, as in slow motion, a bolt of lightening hit Zabini. He let out a scream of pain and fell to the ground, writhing. Then everything went dark.


	9. Rescue

**A/N: **I hope you aren't too mad about what's going to happen in this next chapter! It's all for the sake of the story! Thanks once again for those of you who pointed out some of the flaws in my story. I will go back and correct them when I get a chance. Enjoy!**

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**.::Chapter 8 – Rescue::.**

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Draco felt himself fly backwards with the force of Zabini's blow into the glass cabinet behind him. He reached back to break his fall, but felt the glass break and slice through his hands. He let out a yell and pushed away, groping for his wand on the floor with bloody hands. He finally found it and used it to quickly heal his hands and dry the blood away. Stuffing the wand into his pocket, he ran outside the door after Hermione and Zabini, hoping he wasn't too late.

Without warning, he saw the figure of Zabini in front of him literally light up with the electricity of the lightening bolt. A beam of light flew from his wand and hit Hermione, knocking her to the ground. Zabini fell as well, letting out a scream of pain. Suddenly everything was quiet except for the steady drip of the rain. Draco ran up to both of them and knelt down.

Hermione had a look of fright on her face, but looked nothing like Zabini, whose entire body was contorted into an odd position, a look of horror twisted about his features. He was obviously dead. Hermione, though, was still breathing unsteadily. Draco carefully pulled her into his arms. She looked so beautiful, lying there. He nearly let himself think about what could be if the two were not enemies – if all this would not have happened – but he quickly brushed these thoughts from his mind. Zabini was dead, and the others would either run or help Draco as soon as they discovered this. His new plan for Harry Potter was beginning to form. But first he needed to destroy the horcrux.

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"Ron?" 

Harry found himself covered in dirt and debris. Seconds before the Shrieking Shack had exploded, he had run into the underground passageway, hoping for safety. He found himself trapped under several boards. Ron was nowhere to be found.

"Ron?" he tried again. He strained his neck, trying to see in the darkness. Suddenly, he saw a body lying to his right. It was covered in dirt and blood, and it was perfectly motionless. Ron.

"Ron!" he screamed, trying to claw his way to his friend. It was no use, as his legs were tightly pinned down. "Ron," he gasped again, tears running down his cheeks. He knew it without thinking it. His friend was dead.

* * *

Hermione woke up in a brightly lit room. The first thing she thought was how comfortable she felt. The thick, silky sheet below her kept her warm and cozy. Then she realized that she didn't know where she was. She tried her best to remember something, anything. 

_Hermione Granger. Her name. She was a witch._

_Her arm around a blonde boy's shoulder._

_A tingling feel on her lips from a kiss. _

She tried to make sense of it all. Why couldn't she remember more?

* * *

Harry woke from his dreamless sleep. The sun was high in the sky. It had been hours, maybe days since he had been trapped under this plank. He was loosing life slowly, and was so hungry. He felt weak and dizzy from dehydration. If only someone would come and save him – Hermione. He let out a weak moan and passed out. 

"Potter!" said a voice sharply above him. He opened his eyes slowly and saw the pale face of Draco Malfoy in front of him.

"Damn it, Malfoy!" he said in a hoarse voice. "Just let me die. You already killed Ron and Hermione. What else could you want from me?" Draco frowned.

"I didn't do this, Potter," he said calmly. "Zabini did. He wanted you dead. And Weasley."

"I don't believe you," hissed Harry. Draco shrugged.

"What choice do you have?" he said. "You can either believe me and let me help you, or you can die here."

"I would rather die."

"Ah, I would prefer that," said Draco carelessly, "but it seems that you are needed."

Harry glared at him.

"There was an addition horcrux," continued Draco, "that you so carelessly overlooked."

"I don't believe you!" roared Harry, his voice cracking. Draco rolled his eyes.

"You've already told me that; I know. Just for your information, your blood-traitor's Mudblood finance is still alive." Harry froze. "And if you want it to stay that way, I recommend you help me out with destroying the horcrux. I'm not too fond of resurrecting the Dark Lord myself, see. I have my own plans for revenge."

Harry stayed perfectly still for a moment, then hung his head.

"I'll help you, Malfoy. As long as there is something I can do in memory of Ron, I'll do everything and anything."

* * *

Hermione slipped slowly out of bed. It had been several days since she had woken up in this bed, yet nobody but nervous house-elves had come in and given her food and drink. She had been too sore and hurt to get up, but now she felt much better. She opened the door with a creak and gasped as she saw the boy from her memories standing there. 

"Good morning, dear," he said warmly, embracing her. She hesitantly hugged him back.

"Do you know what day today is?" inquired the boy pleasantly. Hermione stared curiously at him.

"It's our one-month wedding anniversary!"

Hermione stared at the boy blankly. She wondered if what he was saying was true. He was indeed the same boy she remembered slipping her arm around, because he had the same light-blonde hair and pale skin. He was extremely handsome, and although a caring look was on face, she could tell he was haughty underneath it all. Still, were they really married?

"Are you all right, Hermione?" the boy said. "When that thief attacked you, he cast a memory charm on you, and I was hoping it wasn't too effective, since he was struck with lightening. I have him locked below in our dungeons, until the Ministry of Magic arrives. He's lucky he survived.

Hermione nodded in confusion. What was this boy talking about?

"What is your name?" she asked uncertainly. The boy smiled sadly at her.

"Draco Malfoy. Do you mean to tell me you've forgotten my name, too?" Hermione was taken aback by the look of utter sadness on his face that changed to an almost disparaging look of disappointment. She couldn't bear it. He was the only person in her world now. The person who held the key to helping her understand everything.

"I'm sorry," she cried. He turned and looked at her. Then he smiled.

"That's all right," he said. "You'll understand it all soon."

* * *

Harry paced his cell furiously. Draco had lied to him. Draco had already known how to destroy the horcrux, and the moment Harry had entered the house, he had been hit with a stunning spell and woken here. All he cared about was if Hermione was alive or not. He had already lost Ron. He couldn't bear to loose Hermione. 

Suddenly a door screeched open to his right, and he turned and saw Draco entering the room smugly. A brown-haired girl walked in after him, and Harry gave a cry as he saw it was Hermione. She looked so pale and confused – nothing like the Hermione he had last seen. He ran forward, straining to get through the cell bars, but he could not. Draco stared at him smugly.

"Hermione, this is the disgusting thief you made you loose your memory," he spat.

Hermione stared blankly at Harry.

Harry was taken aback. "Hermione! Don't you remember? It's me, Harry! Please, Hermione." Draco shook his head.

"Don't let him fool you, darling. He's a liar."

Hermione stared at Harry and then Draco, and then back to Harry again. Then her face twisted into a look of horror. "You're terrible!" she screamed at Harry, clinging onto Draco. "How could you do this to me? I can't even remember my own husband!"

Harry let out a shout. "Draco, you liar!" he nearly screamed. "How could you trick her, especially when she's in this state! Hermione," he called out, "look on your finger. Look at your ring."

Hermione looked at him.

"Ron gave that to you, Hermione," continued Harry in a panicked voice.

Hermione shook her head. "Your the liar! Draco gave this to me. Stop lying. You're pathetic. I don't even know who you are!" Harry didn't say another word. Instead, tears welled up in his eyes, and he turned away. Draco slipped his arm around Hermione's shoulder.

"It's all right, dear. It will all be okay."

Suddenly, five wizards appeared in the room with a slight pop. They all had their wands out, pointing at Harry. Draco lifted his wand and the cell door swung open. Harry didn't even resist with the tallest Auror pointed his wand at him, making chains appear from midair, snaking around Harry's arms. Another Auror grabbed Harry's arm and disappeared with a pop. A man wearing a suit walked up to Draco.

"Edward Sloan, Ministry of Magic. He's on his way to Azkaban right now, where he will await trial. I'm sorry for the wait." Draco nodded.

"That's perfectly fine. Thank you for your assistance." The man nodded quickly and disappeared silently. Draco looked at Hermione. Suddenly another memory appeared in her head. Draco lying on the floor, bleeding. And she was standing over him, a piece of glass in her hand.

"What did I do?" she shrieked in alarm. "Oh, Draco! I think I remember…hurting you!" Draco looked puzzled for a moment, then shook his head.

"No, Hermione," he said, "It's all right. You were having a hard time then. Just…a lot of anger." Hermione began to cry. Draco almost felt bad for what he was doing to Hermione, then changed his mind.

"How could you ever forgive me for doing that to you?" Draco reached forward and brushed a tear from her cheek. Now that he had Hermione, she had almost become a burden to him. The only thing that kept him going was the fact that he was going to hurt Potter in the cruelest way possible. Potter was going to watch as Hermione slowly fell in love with him and thought Potter only a common thief. He turned to Hermione and lied.

"Because I love you. You're mine, forever."


	10. Revealed

**A/N: **Thanks for reading. And while you're here, I'm going to do a bit of shameless advertising. I just put up my latest story, called Speak to Me. It's a Sirius-OC romance. Even if that's not your thing, please do check it out and leave a review! (smiles)

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**.::Chapter 9 – Revealed::.**

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Hermione couldn't sleep. This night had been an especially restless one. Strange memories had begun to flood in, ones she couldn't explain. In many of them she had been fighting with Draco. At first she thought it was back when she had been going through "problems", like Draco said. But then she began to noticed that in her memories, it was not she who was hurting Draco, but it was Draco who was hitting her, kicking her, slamming her into walls and slapping her.

She slipped out of bed, freezing for one moment as the sleeping form of Draco seemed to move slightly to the left. She didn't move, her eyes pinned on him. Seconds passed, and he didn't move again. Hermione let out a soft breath and moved on. He hadn't done anything to hurt her, except in her memories, but he was always so controlling, and didn't always answer her questions about things.

She slid out the door and into the moonlight streaming from the tall window opposite her. The hall was cold, and she wrapped her arms around her body in an attempt to warm herself. A mirror sat at the end of the hall, and she caught her reflection in it. Her hair was long and messy, curling around her shoulders, and her eyes were tired. She wondered what had happened to her to make her look like this. Suddenly she looked to her left and saw an open door leading into another dark bedroom. Something drew her to it.

Stepping in, she noticed right away that glass was on the floor. The room also looked strangely familiar. Walking to a wall, she noticed something carved into it lightly. Leaning closer, she caught the words "help! Draco kidnapped me!"

She cried out as the painful memories hit her, blinding her.

"_What do I want? What do I want? What I want is to take you away from Harry. I want him to feel like I did when he murdered my father. I want him to feel the pain of having a loved one gone forever."_

It was Draco's voice speaking to her from her dreams. And suddenly she remembered who she was. Where she was. What was happening. She felt cold arms slip around her. Smothering her. She screamed.

"Hermione," she Draco's voice, "what's wrong?"

"Ron!" she screamed, wriggling from Draco's grasp and running out the door. She felt the cool air hit her as she flew into the hall. Draco followed after her. "Harry?" he called after her. "That thief? He tried to kill you. Don't be silly." Hermione kept on running down the moonlight hall and threw open the doors in front of her, letting the cool air hit her and the rain splash down onto her skin. She tripped through the muddy ground, her tears mixed with the cold rain on her face. She wasn't going to let Draco win again.

She turned and saw Draco standing behind her. She choked back a sob. "Just let me go, Draco!" she cried. "I just want to find Ron. I'm so sick of your stupid lies and everything you've done to me!"

Draco froze mid-sentence. His kind features twisted into a look of disgust, but he didn't say anything. Hermione walked backwards, afraid to take her eyes off of him, and finally turned around and broke into a run.

"I wouldn't leave if I were you," Draco said simply.

Hermione, despite her desire to keep running, to escape from this hell, felt a strong tug stopping her from moving on any further. She hesitantly stopped herself and turned. "What the hell do you want?" she said in a low voice, so soft it was barely audible above the quite rumble of thunder in the distance.

Draco smirked triumphantly. "I thought you might listen, Hermione." She sneered back at him. He continued. "Potter is in a very dangerous predicament, as you might have noticed. The Ministry quickly forgets things; and they have quickly forgotten what Harry did several years ago for them by destroying the Dark Lord. I have connections in the Ministry who can lock your dear Harry up for longer than you can imagine."

"No…" Hermione let the words escape her shaking lips before she could stop them. Draco raised his eyebrows.

"That is, unless you cooperate with me. Then, perhaps, Harry might not be sent to Azkaban for that long." Hermione put a hand to her head, feeling trapped. Could she even believe Draco? She knew he had connections, like his father, that much was for sure, but was this worth believing? Draco was most certainly not above lying to get what he wanted – and what he wanted was Hermione.

She took a unsteady step toward him. "So what do you want me to do?" she said weakly, the fight sapping from her body quickly and leaving her cold and helpless. Draco smirked – a smirk, that for a short time, Hermione had found incredibly sexy, even though she would never admit it to herself – but now all it looked was evil, ruthless, and cold.

"It's simple," he crooned, taking her unwilling form into his arms in a gesture of mock-kindness. "All you have to do is stay with me and do what I tell you to do, and I'll make sure Potter dearest never goes to Azkaban, as long as he doesn't interfere." Hermione pulled away from Draco.

"And…and when he is freed, what will I tell him if he comes looking for me?" she whispered, half-afraid to hear the answer. Draco raised his eyebrows.

"Well, what do you think?" he laughed. "The truth. That you love me, and you want to live here with me, forever."

Hermione's eyes widened in fear and she felt a cold tear trickle down her cheek. "But I don't love you. I love Ron!" Draco's eyes flashed for a quick moment, but then he calmed down, observing Hermione with his deep gray eyes.

"Of course you do," he said, sliding his hand onto her lower back and pulling her to him. He reached forward and softly brushed a wave of curly hair from her smooth cheek, cupping it gently as he drew closer to her. His lips closed over hers, sending jolts up and down Hermione's spine. But she no longer felt attraction, only horror toward this monster she was doomed to live with for the rest of her life, or at least, until he grew tired of her.


	11. Incapable

**A/N: **Sorry it took me longer than usual to come up with a new chapter. Hope you enjoy this one:)**

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**.::Chapter 10 – Incapable::. **

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Hermione Granger was looking unusually pale these days. Her bones stuck out in odd places, and her normally radiant, wavy hair fell limply around her shaking shoulders. Her whole body heaved from the force of the sobs that came from her covered face, her knees knocking together. She had locked herself inside the cold bathroom of the house – the only place she could find temporary peace and solitude.

She tried desperately to prepare herself for what was to come, but the tears refused to stop falling. She knew she had to find her strength, for she needed it to save Harry. He was coming by that day, freed from Azkaban, no doubt because of Draco's connections to the Ministry, and Hermione knew he would be expecting to find her there, waiting for him. After all, Draco did tell him that Hermione wanted to see him – of course he wouldn't be expecting what was to come.

Draco knocked on the door of the bathroom sharply. "Hermione," came his bored, annoyed voice, "you need to get out of there and get yourself ready for when Potter comes by." He obviously expected Hermione to refuse to come out. She fulfilled his expectations by staying put, her silence as a shield against him.

Draco felt himself grow red, and he banged on the door angrily. "You filthy Mudblood, how dare you!" he hissed angrily. "Get out of there now!" Hermione laughed bitterly, then opened the door, preparing herself for what was so come. To her surprise, Draco merely grabbed her by the arm and yanked her down the stairs. No slap or vicious words came from him. He merely pulled her into the living room and shoved her down on the couch.

"Now, Granger, pull yourself together and make sure you look decent, and _happy, _when Potter arrives. We can't have him suspecting things, can we?" Hermione glared at him incredulously. How was she supposed to be happy in the midst of all this? She ignored Draco and wiped the tears away from her face, trying to smile. She knew it looked painful, but at least it would work for Draco.

The doorbell rang loudly, causing Hermione to jump. Draco walked past Hermione, reaching out a hand to help her off the couch. She stood up herself and followed him to the door, barely controlling the scream that threatened to spill from her lips. Harry Potter stood in the open doorway, his striking green eyes coming to a rest upon Hermione. His unsure, wavering look nearly broke Hermione's heart.

"Hermione?" he said in a voice of uncertainty. Hermione glanced at Draco. She wanted to say how she felt so badly, but knew that Draco could do things to hurt Harry more than she ever could. She stayed silent, and Draco helped her along by slipping his arm around her shoulder. He gave her a sharp look, and Hermione shook slightly, staring at Harry with dry eyes.

She had made up her mind that very second. No longer would tears come from her eyes – she had to be strong for Harry, because he had been strong for her. She had protect him, and keep his out of Azkaban, even if it meant him believing a lie. She looked at him through cold eyes and said in a low voice, "I don't Ron anymore."

Draco smiled indulgently at Hermione and glanced smugly at Harry.

Harry looked as if he were choking, and reached out a trembling hand to Hermione. "Don't you remember anything…about Ron?" he said in a voice of forced calm. Hermione shook her head, tears welling up in her eyes.

Harry exploded angrily, hot, scalding tears pouring down his cheeks. "Ron's dead, Hermione! He's dead and now you are throwing away the very thing he died for!"

"No," Hermione shouted, her voice ringing loudly, "I don't believe you! Now get out, Harry. Leave me. Leave me forever!"

Harry's reaction both surprise and hurt Hermione. He stared into her eyes – no, through her eyes, and turned to Draco.

"You win," he finally spoke. "You take her. You'll never hear from me again." Without another word, he turned and walked out the door, leaving Hermione staring blankly after him. Draco shrugged and closed the door softly.

Hermione stared after Harry through dry eyes, too shocked to remember to cry. This hurt more than anything Draco had ever said or done to her. Harry hadn't even cared about her, but had walked away the moment she had told him to. All she had always known about the friendship between her and Harry disappeared before her eyes.

Draco's voice broke through her thoughts harshly. "Very good, Hermione. I had thought that you would do as I asked, but I never suspected you would put up this good of a show." He looked genuinely pleased. Suddenly, he stopped and turned back to her.

"What? No tears or cruel words for me? I'm disappointed, Hermione." He waited patiently for her to sob, scream, attack him, or do _anything, _really, because it amused him. He grew angry when she stayed put, staring blankly at the wall. He strode over to her and lifted her face to his with his finger. She stared at him with an empty expression, her dark curly hair falling into her eyes. Draco sighed and walked away from her, letting her face fall, her chin hitting her chest.

A rare flicker of guilt flittered through Draco's mind. When he had kidnapped Hermione, his original plan had been for revenge against Harry Potter, with no interest for Hermione in mind. He had always through she was a disgusting and conceited Mudblood and had never felt the slightest emotion toward her, except for disgust. But then, somewhere during the time she had spent in the Malfoy manor, he had noticed things about her he never had before. When she wasn't hanging around Harry Potter and showing off in class, she actually was quite tolerable. She was brave and fiery, and extremely kind, even to the very person hurting her. Merlin, she had even saved his life once!

Another emotional toward Hermione had risen up in him, an emotion he swore he would never feel. _Love_. Or so he thought at the time. He should have known – Malfoys were incapable of love, or at least incapable of being loved. He had thought Hermione might have loved him back, especially when he saved her from being killed by Zabini, but that night, when he had tried to kiss her, she had rejected him.

In desperation, he had blindly pursed revenge to dull the pain in his heart. He would get rid of Harry, and Granger, that filthy Mudblood who had thought she was above him, would become his pet. She would be with him, be it against her will, until he was done with her, and Harry would at last feel the lose Draco had felt when he had lost his family. But things were not going according to plan, and he felt that this time, he had truly broken Hermione's heart.

A lone tear trickled down his cheek. His future had already been decided the moment Hermione had rejected him. He would have this one last victory, and no one would ever hurt him again. Suddenly, he heard footsteps behind him, and turned to find Hermione standing up, walking toward the door. He made no movement to stop her, but raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"Ah, up and about, I see. Going somewhere?" Hermione stared at him.

"Yes," she replied simply. "I'm going to see Harry. I'm going to tell him everything that you've done and said to me, and I will show him that I have loved him all this time. I did all this for him. I'm sick of living in your lie, Draco. It's all a game to you – a game of revenge. I'm tired of playing. I don't care what you do to me, but you won't take the person I love away just because you don't know how to love yourself."

Without another word, she turned and strode out the door, her eyes brighter than they had been in days. Draco did not stop her, laughing hatefully as she went. "If that's how you want to play, Mudblood," he sneered, "then fine. You think you've won? You'll never see your precious _Potter_ again, I promise you that." Hermione's eyes grew wide, but she did not stop walking. She grew pale, and broke into a run as soon as she opened the door.

Draco merely smiled at her retreating figure.


	12. Haunted

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A/N: **So I know it hasn't been that long, but I'm getting ready to wrap up the story in about two chapters, so please review and give me ideas if you would like. I hope you've enjoyed reading! **

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**.::Chapter 11 – Haunted::.**

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Hermione Granger was lost. She glanced around widely, too disoriented to use any magic she would have normally attempted to use in order to place her location if she was thinking clearly. She had found it impossible to apparate, and so had decided to travel on foot. She walked along lonely country roads, and down busy sidewalks in the heart of bustling cities, Muggles staring strangely at her wizarding robes which she was too tired to change out of.

At last, she reached a tiny pub in Diagon Alley. An inn stood nearby, and she made her way inside, thankful she at least had a few gallons with her. Reaching the front desk, she requested a room and slipped several gallons from her pocket, handing them to the sullen-faced young woman across from her. The woman handed her a key, staring at her disheveled appearance before turning back to the papers she was filling out. Hermione ignored the look and walked toward her room, her feet dragging on the steps. Reaching the room, she pulled the door open slowly.

Inside was a tiny, sparse room with hardly room for the one small bed that sat in the corner. She didn't care – instead, she took her wand and lit the fireplace swiftly, warming the room, and fell into the bed, pulling the cold sheets around her shivering form. Without another moment's hesitation, she closed her eyes and drifted off into a heavy sleep.

Hermione tossed and turned in the bed, her silent cries echoing hauntingly inside of her head. Not only had she regained the memory that Zabini had attempted to take from her, but she was starting to dream of old memories, memories she and Draco had both purposely erased from each other's minds with a quick spell. Her pathetic past, the mistakes she had made – she and Draco had both decided that they would forget them forever and go on with their lives. Why had they come back to haunt her now?

_The rain poured down heavily along the abandoned streets of the neighborhood, shallow puddles lining the streets. A lone figure, pulling a dark cloak tighter around their shivering form, made their way down the street, dodging the puddles at their feet. Their wand was out and they jumped at any small noise – the person was obviously terrified, either at where they were or at what they were doing. Reaching a small house beside many others, the figure raised their hand and knocked on the door apprehensively. _

_A dim light hit the pavement as the door creaked open, revealing a man with sallow skin, greasy black hair, and a hooked nose standing at the doorway, staring down in slight surprise at the figure before them. After exchanging words hurriedly, the figure in the cloak darted into the doorway, followed by the pale-skinned man. He closed the door with a snap._

"_Miss Granger," said a low, familiar voice, "I'll have to ask you to explain yourself." _

_Hermione threw the hood of her head and shot Snape a brave look, although he could tell that she was terrified. She pointed her wand at Snape's chest. "I know you have him here," she said sharply, as Snape glanced down at her wand almost lazily. "Tell him I want to talk." _

_Snape looked back up at her, his eyes borrowing through hers, trying to find the reason why she had come, putting herself in such danger. He knocked her wand out of her hand, sending it clattering to the floor, and deftly pulled out his own, holding it to her throat. She trembled._

"_I could kill you, you know," he said. "It was very foolish of her to have come all this way for Draco. If I summoned Death Eaters to my side right now you would die swiftly. So tell me, why did you come?" _

_Hermione eyed the wand at her throat in fear, but looked courageously back up at Snape. "I wanted to find him and…and bring him back." _

_Snape's lips curled in amusement. "Bring him _back_, Miss Granger?"_

_Hermione nodded defiantly. "Yes. No one else would believe it, but after hearing what Harry said, I know that Draco's not like his father at heart. He's not evil like V-Voldemort, and he's not a murderer like you." She said this with more confidence than she felt inside, and Snape twitched angrily. He raised his wand, but before a spell could leave his lips, Draco entered the room, staring at the two in shock._

"_Granger?" he said disgust, but Hermione could tell there was none of the spite or revulsion in his tone that used to exist before he left Hogwarts. His eyes flicked quickly over the scene, and his hand traveled to his own wand. _

"_Miss Granger would like to talk to you," said Snape, lowering his own wand. Hermione looked up at Snape in surprise, but did not test her luck. Draco raised an eyebrow._

"_Well, I'm sorry," said Draco, attempting to sound like he didn't care, "but the air in here is starting to stink, and I personally don't want to get any closer to the source." He stopped when Snape's harsh gaze fell upon him. _

"_Draco, I believe you misunderstood me," he said softly. "Miss Granger merely wants to talk. I think you should make it clear to her..._forcefully_…where your loyalties lie." Draco looked puzzled for a moment, and then his eyes widened, glancing down at his wand. Hermione instantly attempted to pick up her wand, but Snape deftly stepped on it, breaking it with a light snap. Hermione was trapped. _

"_No…" she whimpered. Draco seemed frozen._

"_Draco," hissed Snape, "you have one chance to prove yourself in the Dark Lord's eyes by killing the Mudblood. He might forgive your past…mistakes…if you do." _

_Draco raised his wand, his eyes focused on Hermione. She looked desperately for a way out, but there was none. Her eyes locked on Draco, pleading with him. He opened his mouth and shouted a spell…_

…"stupefy!"

_Snape fell to the floor with a heavy thud, his robes billowing as he fell. Hermione let out a soft shriek, then realized what Draco had done for her. _

"…_why?" she started, but Draco stopped her._

"_Just get out of here, Granger," he snapped, glancing worriedly at Snape. Hermione nodded, muttering a thanks to Draco, and flew out the door. There was fear in her eyes, but also confusion. What had Draco just done her? _

Hermione sat up in bed and let out a shriek. Why had these memories come back to haunt her now?

* * *

Late that morning, Hermione was jolted from her sleep by the loud knocking on the door of her room. She rubbed her eyes sleepily, disoriented for a brief moment, then, slipping on a sweatshirt and slipping her feet into her shoes, stepped out of bed and stumbled toward the door.

"Who is it?" she asked groggily, rubbing her eyes, and remembering her dream last night with a sinking feeling of horror in her heart. It was still drizzling outside, and although Hermione had no way of knowing what time it was, she guessed it was late.

"Miss Granger, you need to be out of her by noon," said the clipped voice of the witch Hermione had paid last night, "unless you plan to stay here another day, in which case you'll need…"

"No, that's fine," Hermione shouted back, taking once look at her appearance through a mirror to her side. She had hardly any money left with her at all, and she could barely afford to stay here another night, as cheap as it was. Noticing her hair, she attempted to smooth it down, but to no avail. Flinging the door open, she stepped around the shocked-looking witch and turned a corner, walking down the stars into the busy pub below.

It was so crowded that nobody seemed to notice Hermione, which she certainly did not mind. As she walked toward the door, still shaking the last bit of sleep from her eyes. She realized she had no idea where she was going, except back to Harry. Perhaps, now that she had rested some, she would be able to apparate the rest of the way back to Harry's house, if indeed he were there.

She sat down at the bar for a moment, trying quickly to collect her wits. The dream last night had her worried and shaken, and remembering things she had promised never to remember again. Resting her head in her hand, she couldn't stop her weary mind from wandering back to the things she was suddenly remembering.

_Hermione Granger sat at the bar of the nearly-abandoned Hog's Head. Hogsmeade had been everything but destroyed in the past months during the war with Voldemort. Being here was extremely risky for Hermione, but she had managed to slip away from Harry and Ron to see Draco. Nobody knew of her visit to him those many nights ago, when he had saved her life. _

_"Draco," said Hermione, watching as a tall, slender figure walked closer to her spot at the Hog's Head, his sleek blonde hair combed back slickly like it normally was. He looked careworn and weary, but still proud, like the Malfoy he truly was. "You got my letter, then?" _

_"Yes," said Draco coldly, taking a seat beside her. "I only have a moment. What was it you wanted?" _

_Hermione's eyes widened. "I don't know why you saved my life last night, but I wanted to thank you…and I wanted to tell you something." _

_"You called me here merely to thank me?" Draco said angrily, his cool blue eyes narrowing at the girl sitting before him. "After I risked so much to even be here. Why? I don't know. I was barely able to convince Snape that the stunning curse was poorly aimed and meant to hit you. I'm fortunate enough to know some Legimency, or else Snape would be able to see right through me." _

_"Draco, please," said Hermione, looking up at him with sadness. "After last night, I know you aren't bad at heart." Draco made a disgusted snort at this comment, but allowed Hermione to continue. "You could leave the Death Eater's and rejoin the other side!" she said eagerly, hoping he would listen to her. "You don't have to do this simply because your father wants you to. You can be different." _

_"Once you join the Death Eaters," said Draco bitterly, "there is no turning back. The Dark Lord does not deal with betrayal lightly. There is no place I can hide that he can't find me. And I have no guarantee of protection, now that your precious Headmaster is dead." He sighed, running a pale hand through his hair. "What do you want, Granger?" he asked impatiently. _

_"What I want," pleaded Hermione, tears welling up in her eyes, "is for you to realize you aren't a Death Eater, really. I want you to come back to the light and fight for good. And I want everything to go back to the way it was before." _

_Draco smirked dispassionately at the figure before him. "Sometimes we don't always get what we want in life," he remarked, standing up and walking toward the door "Do not contact me again. If we are seen together we will both be killed. We are on two different sides of this war. Nothing will ever be the same again. It's time you learned that. _

_The door swung shut, leaving Hermione alone in the dimly-lit bar.  
_  
Hermione let a lone tear trickle down her cheek at the memory. She had purposely erased these memories from her mind and from Draco's mind, afraid that they would come back to haunt him. Normally her spellwork was impeccable, but during the war she had been so weak and tired. She stood up, wiping the tear from her cheek. 

As she made her way toward the door of the pub, she noticed a familiar figure sitting at the bar, holding a dusty bottle of firewhisky in his hand, taking a deep drink. The others in the bar sat at a safe distance from the figure, dressed in muddy, threadbare clothing. He was pale, and his face was blank and unreadable.

"Harry!" exclaimed Hermione weakly, turning from the door and running to Harry, tears of happiness and relief in her eyes.

Harry turned and looked at her with dark eyes, grey bags of exhaustion and pain lining the bottoms. His brilliant green eyes were now only a mere muddy green and even his normally unmanageable jet-black hair was limp and flat. Then he turned away, downing half of his drink in one gulp.

Hermione approached him eagerly. "Harry, it's me, Hermione! I'm all right, see?

"Yes, I saw when I visited you," said Harry dryly, finishing his firewhisky with one final gulp. "I hope you two are happy. Now get out of my sight."

"Please, Harry!" Hermione pleaded, tears in her eyes, "I'm sorry. Draco said I had to say that or he would kill you. I did it to protect you!"

"You told me you loved Draco," spat Harry heatedly. "After Ron died you save you! To save your worthless skin!" he yelled, throwing his empty bottle of firewhisky at Hermione's head. She ducked just in time, gasping as it shattered against the opposite wall. "Get _out_!" he yelled.

Hermione, white with fear, took one last horrified look at Harry and fled from the bar, tears running down her face. She sprinting through the streets wildly, not paying attention to where she was going until she reached a dark, abandoned street.

"Hermione!" said a familiar voice. Hermione turned around to find Ronald Weasley staring at her with that loveable, stupid look on his face.

"Ron!" exclaimed Hermione, flinging her arms around him. "Harry said you were dead!" she said through her sobs. "He said…"

"Hermione," repeated Ron urgently, "listen to me. Harry lied. You have to come with me. I have something to show you."

Still shocked, Hermione let Ron pull her along down the street, wondering what she was going to find, and why Ron was alive.


	13. Choices

**A/N: **All right, this is the final chapter! I hope you have enjoyed reading the story. I've really enjoyed writing it and reading your feedback! Thanks so much again for making this so much fun. Let me know if you want a sequel or not and I'll start brainstorming!**

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**.::Chapter 12 – Choices::.**

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"Ronald?"

Ron had a strange look on his face as he glanced at Hermione, almost a look of malice that surprised Hermione. They had just apparated from the street corner to this strange place that Hermione recognized but could not quite place – until she saw something scribbled in the corner of the wall of the dusty bedroom.

Her handwriting. Despite, minuscule, and barely legible, but her handwriting nonetheless.

She was at the Malfoy home.

"What-" Hermione began, but her eyes widened in shock before she could finish the sentence. How could she be so pathetically stupid? She had fallen straight into Draco's trap, just like he knew she would from the moment she stepped out of the house, so bold and determined. It was a battle she could not win because Draco would never let himself loose.

"Malfoy," she said in a resigned voice, not even trying to run toward the door. There was nobody in the world worth running away to anymore. Harry hated her, and now she believed him. Ron was dead, and the redhead standing in front of her was Draco disguised.

As if on cue, Ron's hair slowly changed into a sleek, blonde hair and his face slowly transformed into a leaner, more pointed shape. Hermione's heart stopped as the last detail changed – the icy blue eyes.

"Miss me, Granger?" he said with a smirk on his face, the transformation finally completely. "You must have been. It was extremely simple, even laughably so, you bring you back here. Potter didn't believe you as easily as you thought, did he?"

Hermione took in a deep, sad breath, looking at Draco through pitying eyes. "I've been remembering things," she said, not even reaching for her wand. "About you and me."

Draco's eyes flashed. "Nothing happened between you and me," he said automatically. "You're delusional, _Mudblood_. The only reason I would so much as touch you is to hurt Potter," he spat, almost defensively.

"Maybe now," said Hermione, her heart positively aching. "But before, Draco. I've had dreams. It's all coming back now, the reason why we both erased each others memories. If Voldemort had found out, he would have killed you, and if Ron would have found out…it would have broken his heart. But you saved me, Draco, and I won't forget that, even though you've done everything you can think of to hurt me. You saved me once before, and you saved me from Zabini as well."

Draco gave a disgusted sneer, but it sounded half-hearted to Hermione.

"Don't you remember?" she pleaded.

_The battle raged around the Ron and Hermione, spells and hexes flying dangerously close. For now, they were sheltered near the castle, but it was only a matter of time before the Death Eaters found their hiding place and they would be forced to duel once again. Hermione's heart beat furiously in her chest, and she suspected Ron's did as well, but he hid it marvelously, a determinedly brave look plastered on his face, his wand held tightly in front of him. _

_Suddenly, a red ray of light hit the wall above Hermione's head, and a masked Death Eater drew closer. Ron sprinted forward, engaging in a furiously battle with the figure, and Hermione drew forward, ready to fight as well, before she noticed a flash of sleek blonde hair. Draco._

_She flew forward after him into the Forbidden forest, noticing how empty it was compared the rest of the Hogwarts grounds. Suddenly, without warning, a creature hit her, knocking her to the ground. Letting out a strangled cry as her wand flew from her hands, her back hit the ground with a crunch. She looked up to see the form of a werewolf above her – Greyback, she knew – ready to pounce, his yellow teeth gleaming and a hungry snarl coming from his lips. He dove for her neck, and she felt his greedy breath at her neck, knowing she was going to die._

_"Avada Kedavra!" came a familiar voice, and immediately the figure above her rolled limply off of her. She scrambled up, grabbing her wand and leveling it at the Death Eater, then lowering it quickly as she recognized the person._

_"Draco!" she cried out in utter amazement. Draco held his wand out limply, looking confused with what he had just done. _

_Hermione walked closer to Draco, her eyes full of gratitude. "You saved me?" she said, almost as if it was a question instead of a statement. _

_"You're not a Death Eater, Draco," said Hermione determinedly. "You're not one of them. Why not join our side? You could…"_

_Draco strode forward, grabbing Hermione by her shoulders roughly. "You still don't understand, do you? I can't turn back now, it's far too late." His eyes were dark and determined, but swam with tears. "They'll kill me. I've already failed the Dark Lord once. I cannot fail him again." _

_"You're a good person, Draco," said Hermione softly, "and you can't change that." She shivered. Draco was still holding her shoulders, but his grip had loosened. _

_"I'm not a good person, Hermione," said Draco as he leaned down suddenly, capturing her lips with his softly, passionately. _

_Hermione felt her knees grow strangely weak, and her mind felt pleasantly blank as she returned the kiss, too shocked to realized what she was doing. It was strange and beautiful. They were so close, so peaceful, in the midst of the battle, they were not enemies, but lovers. _

_Suddenly Draco pulled away, a horrified look on his face. Hermione's thoughts cleared, and she pressed a hand her face, shocked for what she had just done. What would Ron think of her now? She had kissed the enemy, and not just the enemy, but Draco Malfoy._

_"We have to…get rid of this," said Draco suddenly, pulling out his wand. "He'll kill me if he finds out!" he said in a panicked voice, pointing his wand at Hermione. _

_"What?" said Hermione, her emotions running wild. "You can 'get rid of this'!" she said, now angry. "It happened."_

_"But we can erase the memories," said Draco quickly, looking around him to make sure no more Death Eaters were approaching. "We have to. We weren't meant for each other, Granger," he said cruelly, making tears appear in Hermione's eyes._

_"But we were!" said Hermione, the pain apparent in her voice. _

_Draco hated what he was about to say, but he knew it was the only way to convince Hermione to erase the memory of their kiss in her head. If the Dark Lord would find out, they would both die. "I would never love a filthy Mudblood," he said in a disgusted voice, not even looking at Hermione. _

_She let out a muffled sob that nearly broke his heart, but lifted her wand to her head and murmured the words, "_oblivate!"

_Draco lifted his own wand to his head to do the same thing, but at that same moment he was distracted by a scene taking place atop a high tower at Hogwarts. He could barely see as his father fell from the tower through the treetops, but let out a horrified yell, sprinting past Hermione and toward his father. He knew who had done it – Potter. And now any love he had for Hermione was completely smothered by his overpowering thoughts of revenge. _

"Yes!" Draco nearly shouted. "I never was able to erase the memories," he said furiously. "And I was forced to watch as you and the disgusting Weasel fell in love, got married, and lived your life in happiness. The few years I spent in Azkaban, I sat and plotted what I would do to Potter and Weasley. Potter stole my father and Weasley stole you. And all this time," he said, running a hand through his hair, "I told myself I took you to get revenge on Potter, but it was more. I loved you, and you didn't even have the decency to love me back."

"You did this because you loved me?" said Hermione loudly. "You're a sick person, Draco. I hate you! I hate you for doing this to me!"

"No, Granger," said Draco in a low voice, drawing closer to Hermione. She backed away until her back was up against the wall, but still Draco came closer until his face was inches away from her's. "I hate you."

Then he kissed her passionately and she returned the kiss with equal fire, wrapping her arms around his neck and drawing even closer to the person she hated so much…to the person she loved.

* * *

"So you remembered all this time?" Hermione asked curiously, lying blissfully in Draco's arms and staring up at the ceiling of the Malfoy Manor. Draco nodded as an answer for her question, his gray eyes framed by his sleek blonde hair as he looked down at her. He was absolutely gorgeous, thought Hermione.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Hermione pressed on, gazing at his face with a sigh. "I would have believed you."

Draco shook his head. "You wouldn't have," he said sadly, "and I was too stubborn to try. To me, you were a mistake of the past that I had made, something I needed to erase. I was caught up in the quest for revenge, so lost and lonely…I needed you, Hermione."

Hermione felt tears spring to her eyes to hear Draco speak so passionately. This was a completely different Draco than the one she knew, a softer, kinder Draco. It was the Draco she had fallen in love with so many years ago, in the middle of a raging battle. Even though then it would never have worked, she knew know that she would never leave Draco again, nor would he leave her. The scars of what he had put her through would take a long time to heal, but she was willing to forgive and look beyond what appeared at the surface.

Draco suddenly sat up, his arms still wrapped around Hermione tenderly. "Let's go talk to Harry," he said resignedly. "He deserves to know the truth. As do you."

* * *

Harry's glasses had always done a decent job of hiding his emotions, but at the moment he knew that the glass was doing a flimsy job of holding back the look of rage in his eyes. He was outraged at the two standing at his doorstep, hand in hand. Hermione had not even bothered to hide the fact that she and Draco were together now. The sight of his arm around hers seemed to be spitting in the face of the memory of Ron's death.

"_Get out,_" he hissed, reaching forward to slam the door. Draco's hand on the front of the door stopped him.

"Potter," he said stiffly. Harry pushed harder against Draco's arm, furious but unable to gain any ground. "I've made a mistake," Draco continued. "I've come to apologize."

"Like hell you have," Harry spat, giving the door a vicious shove.

"I'm sorry, Potter."

The words tasted foreign to Draco's lips, yet he said them anyway. The look on Harry's face was a mix of shock and revulsion, but also surprise.

"Sorry?" said Harry slowly. "Sorry?"

Hermione's screams sounded miles away as Harry launched himself at Draco, knocking the smaller boy off his feet and onto the ground. Harry's fists flew wildly, knocking the breath out of a struggling Draco.

"Sorry isn't enough, Malfoy!" shouted Harry, his glasses hanging haphazardly off his face as he slammed Draco with his fists over and over gain. "Not for what you've done. You've tortured Hermione until she turns on her own friends, killed my best mate…after I killed Voldemort, this was supposed to be over. Then you came. You can never be sorry enough."

Finally Draco pushed Harry off of him, reaching up and wiping his mouth with his hand. He noticed that blood was on his fingertips as he brought them from his mouth and a strange metallic taste was filling his mouth.

His next words shocked Harry.

"I know."

Harry stood up suddenly, looked horrified at what he had done. He backed away from Malfoy, who sprang up and followed Harry.

"I've done a lot wrong, but I didn't kill Weasley. That was Zabini. He would have killed Hermione too, but I stopped him."

"So you could break her until she agreed to become your wife!"

"No! I never intended to do that…I wanted revenge, and I was wrong."

"And I didn't kill your father!"

"No!" said Draco, finally realizing that Harry was telling the truth. "What I did was wrong. You'll have to accept that I can never change that. And you'll have to accept that Hermione and I are in love."

At this declaration, Hermione stepped forward, her hand on Harry's trembling shoulder. "I'll never forget Ronald," she said sadly, tears appearing in her eyes. "He was an amazing person and I did love him. But I know I need to move on. Draco's changed. If you'll only give yourself a chance to know him…"

For a moment, Hermione could have sworn she saw a tear appear in Harry's green eyes, but at the next moment he had straightened up and held out his hand to Draco. Draco took it and shook it firmly.

Forgiveness.

At that moment, Hermione saw it occur between the two. Draco let go of years of hate, and the burden of bitterness fell off of Harry as well. For once, two sworn enemies were about to live at peace with each other. Even though history books would claim the war had ended years ago, this was the last battle that needed to be fought. A battle within the soul. And it had been won.

_It had been won._


End file.
